Book Recommendation - Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women’s Words

Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women’s Words by Dr Jenni Nuttall

A few months ago, I was meandering through my local bookshop, not looking for anything in particular, but open to discovering new treasures. As I perused the shelves of sci-fi, historical fiction and biographies, a flash of blue caught my eye: a book, alone, the only copy on a shelf packed with other titles (I feel now that it’s as if the universe wanted me to find it). 

I peered closer, drawn in by the beautiful cover design, entranced by the quirky font. I scanned the title - Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women’s Words. Wonderful! A book about language and women’s history, two areas close to my heart. After reading the blurb, I rushed to the checkout and bought it. However, soon after, life got very busy, as it so often does, and it took me months of reading section by section to finally finish it. 

But I’m very glad I did finish it. Although my reading was disjointed, I thoroughly enjoyed tracing the development of women’s vocabulary through the centuries, including the words associated with areas often thought of as taboo, such as menstruation, sex and violence towards women. One of the most refreshing aspects of the book was Dr Nutall’s acknowledgement of the modern gender sphere, where gender roles are loosening themselves from the rigidity of the past. 

Dr Nutall’s book is a wonderful find, and a pleasure to read for dedicated language enthusiasts and newcomers alike. I’ll be forever grateful that its bright blue attracted me that day in the bookshop. If it hadn’t, I would have been robbed of a fascinating and important journey through women’s English.